The author is a Forbes contributor. The opinions expressed are those of the writer.

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Have you ever thought how your life would change if you were worth a million dollars? What if your net worth was $5 million or $10 million? How about $20 million? In this increasingly hyper-competitive commercial environment being a thought leader is unquestionably one of the most effective and powerful business development strategies available to individuals, companies, associations and even countries. Being a thought leader therefore can prove amazingly instrumental in helping you personally attain millionaire status. However, as we've dissected, scrutinized and enhanced the thought leadership process we find that being a thought leader is rarely enough to become a millionaire.

Being a thought leader, in and of itself, is only part of the equation that can make you a millionaire and very possibly a millionaire many times over. Even if you expertly and efficaciously develop the intellectual capital that you then transform into high-caliber thought leadership products, which creates a gushing pipeline of new business, this alone will not necessarily result in you personally becoming wealthy.

Another integral part of the private wealth creation equation is millionaire intelligence. Having extensively researched what it takes to become a mere millionaire to the thinking and courses of action required to become a heralded billionaire, we've been able to delineate the mindset and behaviors that translate into modest as well as very significant personal fortunes. We refer to this unified collective of perspectives, psychological strategies and behavioral methodologies as millionaire intelligence.

What becomes very clear from studying the spectrum of personal wealth creators and those striving for noteworthy financial success, is that while being a thought leader can set the stage for amassing meaningful if not truly substantial riches, unless you’re concurrently employing millionaire intelligence, then you’re going to very likely let the opportunity for great personal wealth pass you by. While our purpose here is not to detail the multiple interrelated components of millionaire intelligence, we do want to hone in on one of the core foundational elements, which is also essential to becoming a thought leader.

Do You Really Want to Be a Millionaire?

How important is it to you to become wealthy? Think about it for a moment. We find that many people quickly say becoming wealthy is very important to them. But, when we critically evaluate their thought processes and actions, we find this isn't the case. At the same time, we find that few people are engaging in activities that have a better than completely random probability of making them millionaires.

In contrast, when we ethnologically study the self-made super-rich (net worth = $500 million or more), we regularly find that central to their very being is a desire to become spectacularly rich. We refer to this as their “commitment to extreme wealth.” Among those who are quite well to do but don’t reach the financial heights as the super-rich, there’s still a very powerful need and want for pecuniary success. While there are exceptions to the rule, meaningful personal wealth creators are indeed acutely focused on the money.

To become wealthy usually takes a great deal of ambition and determination. This drive can manifest itself in a wide variety of ways from building a successful business to developing and commercializing an innovation to becoming a thought leader to simply being highly motivated to become very wealthy. But, without a serious intense commitment – without the drive – your ability to join the roll call of millionaires is most likely a function of just lucking out. It’s this drive that enables people to persevere through the seemingly obligatory adversities and failures of business.

Most people simply do not have the drive. This is why relatively speaking, very few people – and that includes quite a few of the foremost thought leaders – will ever become millionaires. So, do you have the ambition and determination to excel?